Totino-Grace Eagles halfback Kez Flomo (4) bust off a 48 yard run for a \tdd\ against the Owatonna Huskies during the third quarter of the Class 5A Championship high school football game, Saturday, November 24, 2012 at the Metrodome a in Minneapolis. Totino-Grace beat Owatonna 49-21 to claim the 5A trophy. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

This was how the longtime buddies had always envisioned it: playing together in the final game of their high school careers, doing something special on the Prep Bowl stage.

Dreaming it is one thing; achieving it is another.

Totino-Grace’s AJ LaPanta and Charlie Miller, best friends since age 8, just needed the opportunity to make all of that childhood chatter that occupied thousands of games of catch become a reality. It presented itself on Saturday, Nov. 24, at the Metrodome, and they didn’t let it go to waste.

LaPanta hooked up with Miller on two long touchdown passes that turned a potential nail-biter into a rout in Totino-Grace’s 49-21 victory over Owatonna in the Class 5A championship game. LaPanta attempted just 11 passes and efficiently completed eight of them, including three for touchdowns, to spur the Fridley private school (13-0) to its seventh state championship since 2003.

“You couldn’t ask for a better ending for two best friends to experience,” Miller said. “I don’t know if I should cry or do something else, so I will just really be happy right now and forever.”

The LaPanta-to-Miller connections accounted for 145 yards on three completions, and they broke the spirit of an Owatonna defense that was the biggest and fiercest that Totino-Grace had faced this season.

LaPanta hit Miller on a 49-yard scoring play that gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The lead doubled just more than four minutes into the third quarter when the pals hooked up on a 65-yard scoring play.

“I get pretty excited when I know there is a passing play coming up and he is the main target,” LaPanta said. “This game, this way of ending, has been pretty unreal.”

Owatonna (12-1) had to settle for being the runner-up for the third time in as many championship game appearances.

“I am at a loss for words right now,” Owatonna senior lineman Spencer Sorenson said. “This is the biggest, fastest and most physical defense they have faced. But we made mistakes and gave up some big plays. (Totino-Grace) is like a snake that keeps wrapping around you.”

Getting the LaPanta-to-Miller connection going was paramount in the Eagles’ plans against the Huskies.

“Charlie is a great athlete and it is tough to cover him,” Totino-Grace offensive coordinator Jay Anderson said. “We figured if we can get him open, AJ will do his job of getting him the ball. The chemistry they have for one another is tremendous. As AJ has gotten more confidence, we have gone to him more and more. AJ has made great strides, maturing from a game manager into a playmaker.”

Miller had 145 all-purpose yards and, on defense, four tackles and two for losses.

“Twenty-four hours a day, AJ and I are best friends,” Miller said. “We had confidence we could win this. All those hours in the back yard helped us prepare for this.”

Said LaPanta: “He has my back all the time, and he is always there for me. I’d like to think I’ve been there for him, too.”

Totino-Grace’s undefeated season caps what many believed was an improbable title run at the beginning of the season.

The Eagles weren’t filled with any stars on either side of the ball and didn’t possess overwhelming physical presence. But they reveled in being a lunch-pail group that listened to their coaches and stunned onlookers week after week.

“We went week to week and believed in what we could do,” defensive lineman Joey Schiller said. “We didn’t get too high or too low. We just kept plugging away at what was ahead of us.”

Totino-Grace’s defense held the Huskies to 218 total yards.

Things looked promising in the first half for Owatonna when it forged a 14-14 tie after quarterback Colton Schock churned his legs from a yard out. His touchdown was set up by a one-two defensive punch by Mason Bloomquist and Sorenson.

Bloomquist sacked LaPanta from the blind side, forcing him to cough up the ball. Sorenson, all 302 pounds of him, scrambled to secure the ball and stumbled and bumbled his way to the 1.

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